City clean-up is becoming a waste of space

In just three years, a number of pavements and public areas in Bangkok have been reclaimed and tidied up, thanks to the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration’s (BMA) “clean-up campaign”, which was backed by the military regime. But whether these spots really serve the needs of Bangkok residents remains in doubt.

Years ago, nobody would have imagined that notoriously messy places in the city, from Tha Tian and Pak Klong Talat in old town quarters to Klong Thom Market and Pratunam, to name just a few, would be empty.

Years after its previous failed attempts to evict vendors from pavements and public areas they illegally occupied, City Hall has only managed to reclaim public space in certain areas after it received full backing from the military government.

Almost everyone knows that illegal occupation of public space by street vendors or unauthorised motorcycle taxis had the backing of invisible influential figures who allowed them to take up pavement space without being arrested by tessakit officials (city inspectors).

But under the clean-up campaign, have Bangkok residents really benefited from the reclaimed space? In many cases, many tidied up areas have been exclusively managed by the BMA as if they are its own properties.

While millions who were unhappy with former Bangkok governor Sukhumbhand Paribatra could mock his remark about Bangkok’s floodwater as “water waiting to be drained”, it is unlikely they can do so under the current regime.

Like it or not, at least voters back then could complain about MR Sukhumbhand who managed to fail every resident by disappearing from the city whenever a crisis ocurred.

Can unhappy residents these days complain about how reclaimed space is used and other poor services under current Bangkok governor Aswin Kwanmuang and Bangkok City Council members? These people, hand-picked by the military government, hardly know their own city, and in some cases seem to be more eager to serve tourists rather than local people.

Notice how the two popular food streets, Yaowarat and Khao San, have been saved by CNN who voted Bangkok as the world’s best city for street food for the second year in a row?

Seeing an opportunity to boost tourism, City Hall decided to spare the two thoroughfares from its crackdown on street food while creating another street food hub in Bang Khunthian district as a new tourist attraction.

While improving street food in these areas to serve tourists, the BMA’s crackdown in other other locations will affect residents, especially the urban poor, who depend on affordable street food.

Its mission to reclaim public areas and pavements does not make any sense either. Since November, 2014, several spots were reclaimed from businesses operators only to be given away for legally operated motorcycle taxi stands. It is understandable that Bangkok residents need more public transport choices and the motorcycle taxi service, launched about two decades ago, has become another popular means of travel within the city. But do we have to sacrifice our walking space for motorcycle taxi drivers who usually find it amusing to honk at pedestrians walking on pavements to make them get out of their way?

The now-defunct Saphan Lek Market is a prime example of how the BMA has mishandled its mission to tidy up public spaces. First, it demolished the illegal market structure by Damrong Sathit Bridge, then it cut down a dozen big shady trees standing by the pathway along the historic Klong Ong Ang. Since then the place has been covered with asphalt and adorned with some neat flower pots.

The neatly paved strips along the canal have simply become empty spaces because they are too hot for pedestrians to use during the daytime. The area, however, has become a new location for the BMA to hold Loy Krathong festivities.

To make the canal more like a theme park, the agency also plans to go back in time and revive a pedal boat service and make a section of the waterway more pond-like with hopefully clearer water.

We all want to avoid Bangkok’s traffic gridlock, but must we really commute on pedal boats these days? And seriously, how many of us could really pedal Thaistyle boats?

Let’s not forget how the government and City Hall are sticking by their Chao Phraya Riverside promenade, the New Landmark of Thailand. “Communities” are being evicted from their homes, to clear the riverbanks, only to pave the way for a gigantic eyesore to be built.

Are we really getting space back?

Sirinya Wattanasukchai is an assistant news editor, Bangkok Post.